India announced 26 billion rupees to start construction of the gravitational wave observatory in the western state of Maharashtra. The project is likely to be started in 2030. This LIGO project of India will be the fifth observatory in the network.

Highlights

1. Chair of Narendra Modi, on 6 April approved 26 billion for the project
2. Scientists use LIGO detectors to search for evidence of gravitational waves
3.  LIGO-India can be the fifth observatory in the network

Union Minister Shri Jitendra Singh said “In a nutshell, it will add to our astronomical capabilities and will enable us to offer inputs and feedback not only to India but to the rest of the world,” also added, “thereby giving a global role to India through the medium of space technology.”

This will add to India’s research in the field of Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) network that will find the disruptions in space-time, and mostly these are the cosmic signals which are coming from some high sources of the event from the universe.

Every time, a LIGO detector picks up a signal and scientists have to check whether those signals are coming from any vibrant source of space like any black hole or they are just coming from any source of the earth like an earthquake.

Regarding the project, the Director of Raman Research Institute in India said, Once it came into operation “will enable the dramatic astronomy and astrophysics returns eagerly anticipated from the global network of LIGO gravitational wave detectors in the coming decades,” said the former spokesperson for the LIGO-India.